CCI is investigating against WhatsApp. Several users and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have raised concerns over violations of the country’s antitrust laws. These laws protect the market from becoming monopolistic dominant. Therefore, it promotes a sense of competition in the market by preventing big companies from misusing their authority. It helps users to pay a competitive and legitimate price for the product or service. It also protects them from discrimination. But how is WhatsApp violating these laws? Let us unveil more secrets you should know as a WhatsApp user.
Is CCI Investigation Against Whatsapp A Turning Point For India’s Digital Market?
CCI investigation against WhatsApp can reveal big secrets. We can also get to know how WhatsApp uses our data. The controversy takes a serious turn in 2021. This was the time when WhatsApp announced its new update. According to the update, WhatsApp was now going to share some data of WhatsApp users with its parent company Meta. The reason behind its data sharing was to provide a better experience to the users. However, CCI says that WhatsApp is also sharing data such as phone number, account activity and IP address.
We all know that phone numbers make it easy to keep track of a lot of activities such as location, interest, and consumer needs. Many companies run such ads to target their desired customers through this data. The situation can become worse if someone uses the data incorrectly. Moreover, it is violating antitrust laws. By sharing such data, the company is taking an unfair competitive edge. The CCI investigation is going on. They are also preparing a draft order to punish the companies for the allegations.
The controversy is not one-sided. WhatsApp’s spokesperson has answered CCI’s questions. He says, “CCI proceedings are sub-judice and we can’t comment on it. Whatsapp gave users the choice of accepting the privacy policy update, and users who chose not to accept the update continue to use WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family without having their accounts deleted or losing functionality.”
Thus, Whatsapp has cleared that they have provided the said freedom to the users to accept the update or reject it. However, the users are unsatisfied with the answer. They want complete privacy. Thus, if they don’t accept the update, they want no information to be shared with Facebook or Meta. CCI’s Investigation against WhatsApp will reveal more details about the controversy shortly.